And though I certainly don’t profess to know the ins and outs of this franchise, or this sport, I’ve heard enough hints and warnings from high-powered Bay Area sports and financial figures over the last few months to know that all of this isn’t a huge surprise.

This actually might’ve been overdue–multiple Sharks administrations kept delaying the necessary re-boot because they all knew the re-boot would be so tough, and they delayed it, and delayed it…

Until it couldn’t be delayed any more–for competitive and financial reasons.

Which is right now. And because the re-boot has been pushed back for so long, it’s probably going to be much rougher than it would’ve been three or four years ago.

This franchise has been holding back a lot of pent-up worries and delaying major reconstruction all in the quest to just win that first Stanley Cup, just hold on, so Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dan Boyle and the rest could get hot in the postseason and deliver on the dream.
That was the shot. That was what had to happen to make this all work into the near future for the Sharks.

They tried for just about a decade, and it was an understandable effort… and delay… because the team won regular-season games, a whole bunch of them.

But meanwhile, the payroll hovered above what ownership could afford (apparently), as they made do with the TV deal, as they counted on every seat being sold on every night, as they knew that some day they were going to have to come to terms with reality, instead of delaying the inevitable…
The 3,000-seat drop off in season-tickets 11 years ago was a shock to the system that this franchise still is trying to process, which meant they had to keep making the playoffs and keep praying they could figure out the finances along the way.

They were just waiting for the Cup breakthrough that really could’ve changed everything. And waiting. And waiting.

It never happened and now Wilson and new owner Hasso Plattner have had to make the call: They can’t hold on any more, and they have to face the reality.

(Or at least the financial reality that they are pushing forward–I’m careful about the wording of this because they certainly never let us look at their real books).

If some in the organization maybe had doubts about Thornton and Marleau a few playoff failures ago… well, they needed to keep those TV ratings as high as possible if they were going to try to re-negotiate the deal… and they probably needed to keep their big names around to make sure the TV ratings didn’t crater.

If some in the organization were thinking about doing a rebuild a few years ago… again, they needed those TV ratings… and they needed every seat sold… and they hoped for that Cup victory, and then they could re-negotiate everything.
And they remembered that 3,000-ticket drop off. And shivered.

But you can’t wait forever, you can’t pretend that this is working when it’s not, and now comes the payment due after the years of miscalculation.

Remenda is out because his contract came up at a bad time… and also, I believe, because Sharks ownership/management want more of a company man in that role as they head into some expected rough times in the standings.

Drew was obviously thunderously loyal to the Sharks, but he also had other gigs and other sources of credibility (and didn’t live in the Bay Area), and he wasn’t going to tell his audience things that he didn’t believe.

It’s a bad decision, because Remenda is so good at what he does and speaks with a clarity that connects with fans in a way no other Sharks official has ever been able to do.

But it’s all tied to a franchise having a bit of a nervous breakdown right now, under financial and competitive pressure.

The revamping of the roster has to happen because the Sharks can’t hold back all re-tooling just for that one Cup run when they’ve finally concluded that their most famous guys aren’t destined to lead anybody to a Cup.

Also, behind the scenes, it has been presumed for a few years now that the Sharks will be seeking a new arena very soon to replace SAP Center, which is almost always sold out and is a fine place to see a game but just doesn’t have the mega-revenue-generating features of the new wave of buildings.

I’ve heard for a while now that there is room in Santa Clara near Levi’s Stadium for a hockey arena and that there might have already been some informal conversations about the Sharks’ situation.

Now we know about the TV issues. We also know that the NHL would love for this team to remain in San Jose, right in that downtown spot, but we know that Plattner is the one who will decide what he wants to do long-term.

And judging by the events of the last few days, some major decisions have been made, after a lot of years of pent-up pressure and increasing concern, all come due right here and right now.